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Seagate announced today that it is expanding its Wireless Plus external hard drives to include both a larger storage capacity and a more affordable offering as well. Joining the 1TB Seagate Wireless Plus mobile external drive announced last year is a new 500GB drive creating a lower price point and a new 2TB drive doubling the storage capacity in the lineup…

Seagate’s Wireless Plus mobile external drives allow users to access movies, music, TV shows, photos, and other files stored on the drive from an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, or PC without using local storage on the smartphone, tablet, or computer (Seagate has its own app for iOS, Android/Kindle, and Windows Phone). Each drive is decked out with its own built-in battery rated for up to 10 hours of playback and supports streaming HD video to three devices simultaneously.

Each drive can also act as portable Wi-Fi hub to create a wireless network to be shared between up to seven devices. Seagate Wireless Plus drives can sync content automatically with Google Drive and Dropbox.

Both the 500GB and 2TB Wireless Plus drives are currently available for pre-order on Seagate’s web store as well as Amazon. The new 500GB model retails for $149.99 (Amazon Prime) while the new 2 TB model carries four times as much for $199.99 (Amazon Prime). Seagate’s existing 1TB model is currently in stock and available for $178.99 (Amazon Prime).

CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) today announced the next evolution in the company’s wireless storage category. Seagate® Wireless Plus mobile device storage now consists of a family of capacities at 500GB, 1TB and 2TB versions to suit every need along with integration with cloud services, such as Dropbox and Google Drive. The Seagate Wireless Plus storage is designed to expand beyond the limitations of mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets. With capacities that are multiples beyond the highest storage available on these mobile devices, the Seagate Wireless Plus provides an ideal solution to stream your favorite HD video while freeing up precious space on your Android Tablet, iPad, iPhone, Android Smart Phone, Kindle Fire, Windows 8 computers and Windows RT tablets.

“Having pioneered the category of wireless local storage for mobile devices, Seagate is now proud to advance the platform by adding more capacities and developing advanced features that will benefit how people are using these drives”

Seagate created the wireless storage category in 2011 to address consumers’ desire to enjoy more content than tablets and smartphones can hold with their limited storage options. A CES 2013 Best of Innovations Award Winner, the Seagate Wireless Plus now includes a new option to save content and files to the drive wirelessly through the updated Seagate Media app as well as the ability to migrate files to cloud services such as Dropbox and Google Drive.

“Wireless connectivity is a feature that has been added to external storage over the last couple of years; it provides the convenience of high capacity and easy sharing for mobile devices that are limited in their storage capabilities,” said Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research. “Now, with the integrating of popular cloud storage services to these products, there exists an invaluable bridge to even more content.”

The Seagate Media app’s new capability to sync your files on the Seagate Wireless Plus storage with an existing cloud storage provider means that your files are always accessible even when you don’t have network access. The Seagate Media app creates your own Dropbox or Google Drivefolder, so files are available and at the ready. Then once you are back on the network, your files will automatically re-sync to ensure all changes are saved in both the cloud and the Wireless Plus drive.

“Having pioneered the category of wireless local storage for mobile devices, Seagate is now proud to advance the platform by adding more capacities and developing advanced features that will benefit how people are using these drives,” said Scott Horn, vice president of global marketing for Seagate. “Cloud storage services provide a convenient way for people to migrate files between devices and share with friends and colleagues. With the new Seagate Media app and Wireless Plus mobile storage, people will now be enabled to use these cloud services to access even more media from their Wireless Plus storage device.”

Seagate Wireless Plus mobile device storage is accessed through the mobile Seagate Media app for Apple iOS, Android, Kindle Fire HD, Windows 8 tablets. Seagate Wireless Plus mobile storage connects to devices over a Wi-Fi connection, which the battery-powered drive emits once powered on. Simply connect to the network by searching for Wireless Plus in your available Wi-Fi networks. The drive creates its own Wi-Fi network, eliminating the need to be within range of an existing network connection.

Additionally, you can use Wireless Plus to enjoy video, photos, music and even documents on the big screen via Apple Airplay, DLNA or an app designed specifically for Samsung Smart TVs and Blu-ray players.

Pricing and Availability:

Seagate Wireless Plus mobile storage has a supported battery life of up to 10 hours and provides its own Wi-Fi signal to enable access to the drive. The drive is now available at 2TB for an MSRP of $199.99 and 1TB for $179.99 MSRP. The 500GB capacity point will be available from Seagate.com as of Friday, May 9th at a MSRP of $149.99 MSRP, but can be purchased by pre-order today.